Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Overconfident Domestic Goddess

The other day, Cadence, Cooper and I along with our downstairs tenant, Miranda, were going to go to Mia and Frannie's house to make birthday cupcakes to celebrate Frannie turning one. Amelia had to cancel, but I got this great idea!!! I thought 'Let's make sugar cookies, and decorate them for Halloween. We could make sugar cookies once a month, inviting a different friend over, decorating the cookies for the holiday of that month and then taking some remaining cookies to people to tell them that we are thinking of them.' I want to raise my kids to be giving and thinking of others.Being the domestic goddess that I am (Yeah, right), I didn't freak out that I didn't have a sugar cookie or frosting recipe, cookie cutters or have any idea what I was doing. I could find a recipe and cut the dough with a knife, I thought. This would be simple. WRONG!!!

Miranda still came and I told her my good idea! She said she had a yummy sugar cookie recipe and cookie cutters. Her recipe called for shortening. To make a REALLY LONG story short, the shortening was rancid, as was the second container of shortening we tried. It was grossy-gross (as Cadence would say.) I got another recipe and made it. The problem with this recipe was that it wasn't a recipe that you were supposed to roll out the dough and make designs. WE Tried it anyways. BAD IDEA!!! Finally, Cadence just plopped some dough on the pan and I smooshed it flat. I didn't really have a recipe for frosting and just combined powdered sugar, butter and milk until I thought it looked and tasted good. It took us FOUR HOURS to get one batch of cookies to turn out and be baked and to make the frosting. Miranda left before we even frosted the cookies because it was taking so long. After a break, Cadence and I frosted the cookies and decorated them with sprinkles.

I am NO DOMESTIC GODDESS, that is a proven fact. This incident just reinforced that I have no idea what I am doing when it comes to cooking (and many other things). My overconfidence in just "pulling this off" was humbling, but I just laughed at myself for thinking I could do this. The cookies ended up tasting good and looking like a 2-yr-old made them.However, I am looking for a yummy sugar cookie recipe where we can actually roll the dough out and use cookie cutters to make shapes. I also need a frosting recipe. Anybody have an amazing recipe? Let me know. I still want to follow through on my 'good idea.'

I promise I have the answer to all your sugar cookie problems!!! This recipe will make you very happy:Sour Cream Cookies

1 c sugar1/2 c shortening

Cream together and add:

2 eggs1 c sour cream1 tsp vanilla

Beat until smooth, then add:

3 cup flour1/2 tsp salt2 tsp baking powder1 tsp baking soda

Let stand in refrigerator for an hour. Add more flour when rolling out for the first time (soft and sticky dough.) Roll out to 1/4 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. These cookies should not get brown.